


Temple

by rebel_wren



Category: Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Afterlife, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader Mentioned, Because Time Travel!, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Force Sensitivity, Force Visions, Gen, Hugs, Light Angst, Malachor, Post-Twilight of the Apprentice, Post-World Between Worlds, Visions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 14:08:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20427245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebel_wren/pseuds/rebel_wren





	Temple

Ahsoka had sat with her legs crossed, breathing in and breathing out, deeply and slowly. For the first time since she’d becoming Fulcrum, she was truly alone.

Her master had left her- limping away towards his ship with a battered helmet, though Ahsoka couldn’t help but wonder how much of what was damaged was even her master, or if it was all just the machines he’d been rebuilt with.

Ahsoka’s eyes were closed, and she tried to ignore the hardness of the ground beneath her.

A Sith Temple was no place for her to stay- while she wasn’t a Jedi anymore, ever calling herself a Sith was simply out of the question. But it’s where she would stay until it was her time to leave again. And she would know when that time was.

Sith Temple or not, though, the intense connection to the Force her surroundings had was unquestionable. There was a reason Master Yoda had sent them here. There was a reason Darth Maul was here. There was a reason Kanan had lost his sight here.

There was a reason Ahsoka would last see her master here.

There was a reason Ahsoka had to fight her master here.

The energies in the temple were unquestionably dark, but Ahsoka had learned that the way something is does not have to be how its permanent state.

The lightsabers at her sides were a reminder of that.

So she focused- eyes closed, sitting in the center of a place she’d been forbidden from for so long- focused on searching for the light.

It wasn’t easy, in such a dark place. But Ahsoka knew her strength. She knew how to twist the darkness, how to pull it without being succumbed to it like so many would have been. And she found the light.

Ahsoka found herself just outside the Jedi Temple, but she knew it was not truly the Jedi Temple. She smiled, for she knew exactly where she was.

Her first instinct, after not knowing the truth for so long, was to search for her master. Just over a year ago, in a place like this, that was certainly what she would have done. But he would not be found here. Unfortunately, Ahsoka knew of many others who would be.

“Master Kenobi?”

No one answered, so she called again.

“Master Kenobi? Obi-Wan?”

It had been too many years since she last saw him- she wondered if he’d know more about when Anakin had died, and Vader had been born.

“He’s not here,” a voice from behind her said. It was very deep, and slightly filtered, and despite the passage of time, Ahsoka recognized it immediately.

She turned around quickly, and was greeted by a familiar figure. The mask covering his face had always masked all of his expressions, but Ahsoka always seemed to feel smiles from him.

“Master Plo,” she said softly. She was happy to see him, but she would have preferred he not be here.

She hoped that however his clones did it, it wasn’t too long or painful.

He nodded sagely. “Little Soka.”

She chuckled. “I’m not so little anymore.”

He chuckled too. “On that, we are in agreement.”

Ahsoka smiled at him. Last she saw him, he had offered his apologies on behalf of the council, and he had also watched as she left the Jedi Order for good, a decision that, while painful, she never truly regretted, and had come to realize likely saved her life.

“Who else is here?” Ahsoka asked.

Master Plo sighed. “Everybody.”

A sudden, crowded chattering could be heard from the garden, off a distance to her left. She saw those she recognized- Master Secura, Master Unduli, Master Windu- and some she didn’t. There were many younglings, much to her horror. Children who’d just arrived at the Temple, yet to make any real decisions for themselves.

_ Anakin did this. _

Ahsoka still struggled to reconcile the man she knew with the monster she’d confronted. She was pulled towards blaming it all on the Emperor, but it wasn’t that simple.

How easy things would be if it was.

She shifted her thoughts from Anakin. “But not Master Kenobi?”

“There are a few survivors,” Master Plo explained. “Master Yoda. Master Nu. Master Vos. And yes, Master Kenobi, among others. But they are being preyed upon. It’s difficult to say when they will all begin arriving here, but I fear it won’t be long.”

Ahsoka nodded, carefully considering his words. She hoped they were well-hidden when it was time for her to leave Malachor- if the Jedi were going to live on, she didn’t want Ezra to be the only one left.

Though something told her he wouldn’t be.

“But you’re not truly here, are you, Little Soka?” Master Plo said. “You’re a visitor.”

Ahsoka nodded. “Will I ever be here?”

“Are you a Jedi?”

“No.”

“Then I believe you know the answer.”

Ahsoka sighed softly, nodding. She hadn’t needed to ask him that. But Master Plo was always someone she felt she could ask questions to. And for so long, since the Empire took over, Ahsoka had been the one with answers. It was nice to ask questions again,

She considered his answer in her mind. Frankly, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be here. This wasn’t her place. Not anymore.

“The Jedi still owe you many apologies, Little Soka,” Master Plo said. “And our offer still stands, if you want to be here.”

She shook her head. “Thank you, Master Plo. But the Force has a path for me. And it doesn’t lead here.”

Master Plo nodded. “I understand. But I hope this won’t be your last visit.”

Ahsoka smiled at him. “Of course it won’t. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

There was a pause, but then Master Plo surprised her: he quickly stepped forward and gave her a hug.

It was far from the first time Ahsoka and Master Plo had hugged, but Ahsoka was still very much caught off guard. Though that didn’t mean it wasn’t a happy surprise- Ahsoka hugged him back before Master Plo pulled away.

“Visit again soon, Little Soka,” he said- his voice a soft mixture of amusement and sadness.

In the span of a blink, Ahsoka was sitting on the floor of the Sith Temple once again.

Alone.


End file.
